'Futurama' gets canceled -- again

The Matt Groening animated series will air its final episode on Comedy Central on Sept. 4, the network said Monday.

The final season of the series will premiere June 19 at 10 p.m., and the 13-episode season will bring the series run to 140 episodes.

After its original run on Fox from 1999 to 2003, the series was resurrected in 2007 with a series of direct-to-DVD movies that were aired as 30-minute episodes on Comedy Central. Audience reaction prompted Comedy Central to bring Futurama back as a series in 2010.

"Having the opportunity to bring 'Futurama' back for 52 episodes over these last four years has been a thrill for all of us at COMEDY CENTRAL. The upcoming season promises to be the best final season of 'Futurama' yet," Comedy Central EVP program strategy & multi programming Dave Bernath said.

The series will go out with a bang; the upcoming season will feature guest appearances from Sarah Silverman, "Star Trek" alum George Takei and "Batman" duo Adam West and Burt Ward, among others. Comedy Central will also kick off a 50-day "Countdown to Futurama" leading up to the season premiere, with exclusive content added daily on Facebook.

Calling the upcoming season "a fantastic finish to a good, long run," Groening hinted at the possibility that "Futurama" could find life again in another form.

"I'm very proud of the upcoming season. If this is indeed the end of 'Futurama,' it's a fantastic finish to a good, long run," Groening said.